1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



137 



Vou have had, and will have, our prayers, and, a? 

 I know there arc many faithful ones among our 

 readers, 1 pray you to let me present your case to 

 them. God seems to be moving us to pray for each 

 other. Be patient, my friend, and trust your Father 

 in Heaven, and if it be possible for you, I would 

 strongly urge you to join yourself to the nearest 

 body of Christian people. May God bless you Is our 

 prayer. 



Of course, we did not neglect to pray for 

 lier. Her letter is dated, as you will see, on 

 the 2d. I did not get time to send mine to 

 her until the 9th. Well, her husband wrote 

 on the Nth, one day before my letter was 

 sent, that she was better. Here is his letter : 



Mr. Root, I wish that I could have a good talk with 

 you. 1 think my wife is getting better. It is now 

 nearly ." years since she was taken siek, and it takes 

 all that I can earn to get along and live. I had some 

 little property when she was taken siek, but have 

 lost most of it. I had 40 swarms of bees, but they 

 were attached and sold. The law here gives a man 

 :i swarms. So you see that I have to begin again 

 anew; but I do not care for all of that, if my wife 

 can have her reason again. I think, if I could man- 

 age to get one of your chaff hives for a pattern, I 

 eould make and sell a good many in this section. 



February 8, 1880. G. B. 



God does not have to wait for mails or tel- 

 egrams, as 1 told yon last month. Below is 

 her reply to my letter : 



Frit ma Boot: A thousand thanks for your kind 

 words and advice. I pray daily and hourly, that I 

 may feel your faith, and trust in Cfod. I keep pray- 

 ing, "O God, give me patience to bear this terrible 

 affliction." I feel as if the earnest prayers of your- 

 self and friends could not but do me good, with God's 

 help. My head feels so very bad to-day, that it is a 

 terrible etfort for me to keep still long enough to 

 write a few lines, but, as I told you before, I cannot 

 resist the impulse, and hope it may result in doing 

 me good. I do feel very grateful for your kindness, 

 and advice, and I will surely try the best I can to do 

 right. I deeply feel as if I had done but very little 

 good in the world, and a great deal of harm by not 

 trying harder to make others happy. I was thought- 

 less and selfish, and feel as if I had lived in vain, 

 and that God could never forgive me. 1 do, and will, 

 talk with my Christian friends, but I feel as if I 

 should be only a stumbling block to others, if I 

 should try to join any church at present. Pray for 

 my very kind husband, that he may continue patient 

 and not faint by the way. Please continue .your peti- 

 tions in our behalf. I can never thank you enough 

 for your kindness to one all unworthy. I know you 

 have made many sad and sorrowful hearts to sing 

 for joy, by your kind words and actions. 



God bless all your efforts in behalf of the weary 

 and heavy laden. Accept the best wishes of your 

 sincere and ever grateful friends. (!. and H. B. 



Feb. 1»\ 1880. 



I5o> s. can we not help a little in a case like 

 this? shall these unfortunate friends lose 

 faith in God and humanity, to add to their 

 other trials? 1 have sent friend II. a sample 

 chaff and Simplicity hive to work from, that 

 he may find it a little easier to catch up, and 

 I will give his address to any of you that 

 may wish it. His wife prefers I should give 

 only her Initials. 



FOR OUR HOMES. 



Mr. Young says, in Cur Homes for Jan., "Show 

 how a being of Infinite mercy oan torment a single 

 human being eternally." Now, we do not presume 

 for a moment to think but that Mr. Voung believes 

 that he is a free man to act as he pleases, to do as he 

 likes as to choosing or refusing salvation as it is of- 

 fered in the Bible. To this, I think, all will agree. 

 When we read II. Peter, xi. 4, and Judc, 6, we sec how 

 two Influencing powers came to be in the earth — the 

 one to draw man down to the depths of wickedness, 

 and the other to lead him to do that which is good, 

 and, eventually, if he will listen to the teachings of 

 the Holy Spirit, to lead him up to God. Our first pa- 

 rents were created pure and holy. Life and death 

 were set before them, God saying to them, So long 

 as you choose to be good, and continue in the position 

 where I have placed you, you shall be for ever good 

 and happy; but if you choose to do evil, dying thou 

 shalt die. They yielded, of their own free will, to 

 the influence of the evil power, and thus death, sin, 

 and misery passed upon all mankind. It needs no 

 argument to prove this, for we see conclusive evi- 

 dence of it every day of our lives. Did a being of 

 infinite mercy do this? No; man did it of his own 

 tree will, and, as a consequence, brought misery, 

 eternal death, and punishment upon himself. Now, 

 God or Satan must have the power, or ascendency; 

 and, as God had the ascendency in the two passages 

 quoted above, so he has now. He reserves the right 

 to hold that power, and, if man sees fit to trample 

 all the means of grace under his feet, and will not be 

 good, but delights to do evil, and that continually, 

 God will never be so unmerciful to man as to take 

 away his free will and shut him up in heaven (against 

 his will), which would be a far greater torment than 

 going to eternal punishment with those of his own 

 class. That same evil that was in the fallen angel- 

 is in all men not having their natures changed 

 through Christ, and wicked man would, if he could, 

 tear (!od from his throne and trample him under 

 foot, that they might be still more wicked and mis- 

 erable. In this condition we every one of us find 

 ourselves, and we realize it at some time during our 

 lives. Now, after we had brought all of this on our- 

 selves, and were at enmity against our heavenly 

 Father, God so loved the children he had created, 

 that he says, 1 will give my Son to suffer for all this 

 sin and misery which my sinful children would suf- 

 fer continuing in wickedness throughout eternity, 

 so that, if they will accept of Christ's suffering, they 

 need suffer no more, but may be good and pure, and 

 enjoy being with me throughout eternity. This is 

 all I can do for them; and, if they will not ac- 

 cept of this, they must go on in sin, and suffer its 

 consequences, away from my presence eternally. 

 Christ came, as it is written, " Lo, I come to do thy 

 will, () (Jod," and suffered, the just for Ihe unjust. 

 Friend Young, will you and I be so foolish as to re- 

 ject Christ by trying to climb up to heaven some 

 other way, thereby neglecting the on I y chance there 

 is of becoming good, and enjoying that which is 

 good, throughout eternity? I trust not. In any 

 case, friend V., don't let us try to charge on God 

 that which we have brought on ourselves. There 

 i- one thing which 1 tirmly believe: if we wish to 

 be progressing in goodness and happiness through- 

 out eternity, we must have God's presence in our 

 hearts here; for nowhere are we assured that we 

 shall desire any change in our condition alter we 

 pass From this' life. I am willing to accept Jesus 



Christ as my Savior, realizing thai it is alone through 

 the atonement and sufferings of Christ that I am 

 kept from eternal death. Max- God help us all to 

 choose Christ, and be happy for time and eternity, 

 rather than to have our wills so strong that we shall 

 bring upon ourselves eternal destruction. 

 Borodino, N. V. G. M. Doolittle. 



